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Psalms Link Different Faiths

"Sing to the Lord: the Psalms Through the Ages," will explore similarities in how Hebrew and Christian musical traditions express their faiths.

Sponsored by the University of Dayton Library Advancement Association, the program will be held on two consecutive Sundays, March 11 and March 18, and offer opportunities for audience participation.

"We hope to have the audience appreciate the roots of the whole tradition," said J. Ritter Werner, who will speak at the events. "There's going to be a lot of singing and demonstrating."

Werner, organist and music director at Corpus Christi Church and United Theological Seminary in Dayton, said the programs will examine shared elements of traditional styles of ancient Hebrew music and worship along with modern Christian hymns.

"One thing they all have in common is the psalms," Werner said. "Even though the melody changes, each generation has kept the music alive."

At 3 p.m. Sunday, March 11, at the Immaculate Conception Chapel on the UD campus, Joyce Ury Dumtschin, cantor of Temple Beth Or in Washington Twp., and Alan Kimbrough, UD English professor and accompanist with the Bach Society of Dayton, will present Hebrew traditions and shared aspects of Judaic and Christian music.

The following week, at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 18, at the South Park United Methodist Church, Brown Street and Stonemill Road, the program will offer a discussion of psalm-singing and an old-fashioned Methodist hymn-sing, focusing on the hymns of Charles Wesley and featuring choir members from local Methodist churches.

Tickets for the general public are $25 each or $39 for both programs. Reservations are required and seating is limited. For more information and reservations, contact Sarah Meyer at 937-229-4094 no later than Feb. 26 or go to the UD Library Advancement Association on the web at http://library.udayton.edu/laa/sounds.